Meg the Underlander
by TEM.lovesbantams
Summary: Eight years ago Gregor disappeared into the Underland. Young Boots is now known as Meg and has no memories of her brother or her strange adventures, until one day she falls into a city called Conejia, where she meets two princesses and a prince who have a problem, a strange young rodent with weird dreams, and an old family friend...
1. Prologue

Hey! It's ! I'm fairly new to FF but this is my third story. The Underlander Chronicles is one of my all time favorite serieses and I hate the way it ended. Gregor must return!

Disclaimer: *I hand Gregor the script*

Gregor: Wait. What am I doing?

: *Stage whispers* Read it!

Gregor: Sadly, does not own Luxa, Ripred, Boots, Gregor, or any others of the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins– what! No one ownes me! What are you talking about!

Luxa: Sorry, Overlander. But Suzanne Collins actually owns us.

Gregor: No. That can't be. No one would actually make Ares die.

Luxa: Nevermind. On with the story!

G _regor knocked on the door. He had waited too long for this. This was his one chance to finally see her one more time, before it would all end._

" _Mom, its me, Gregor. I was wondering if we could talk before we leave." As he waited, he stared at the stack of packed boxes looming over him.. Taunting him._ Is this really happening? _Gregor thought. For at this very moment his head and heart were telling him the same thing. That had not happened since he decided to tell her that he… it was too painful to remember._

" _Gregor, now is not the time." Grace said tiredly. She had always been there for him, but now she could be any other person in the world._

" _I know how stressful these past years have been-" she cut him off,_

" _What would you know about being scared and stressed? You haven't almost lost a husband, a son, and two daughters all at once while they were saving a another world which they were never a part of."_

" _Mom, you don't understand!" Gregor protested "I just have to see her again... I mean before we move to Virginia. Mom, if you won't let me do this, I'll never be happy and we'll never have the normal family life you always wanted!" Gregor was almost yelling now._

" _Mom, please just this one last time." Gregor said in a_

 _low voice. His mom was silent as he walked away. this time he wouldn't let anyone or anything stop him from seeing Luxa._

 _As he walked to his room to pack his things, he heard the toilet flush. Somehow Dulcet had managed to potty-train Boots, his four year-old sister while they were in the Underland. He watched as her curly head appeared from behind the bathroom door._

" _Gregor!" She cried when she saw him. "I teach Ares to use the potty!"_

 _Ares was the little black puppy Gregor had bought Boots for her fourth birthday. At only two and a half months, the little dog was always getting into trouble as Boots' sidekick._

" _Uh oh, Boots. What's he doing now?" Gregor asked, already opening the door to rescue the animal._

" _No, Gregor! Ares needs pwivacy!" Boots stopped him. An unhappy whine came from the bathroom and Gregor barged through to find Ares with both hind legs and his tail in the toilet bowl, scrambling to escape._

" _Oh, Boots," sighed Gregor, lifting the soggy puppy out of the toilet and reaching for a dirty towel to dry him off before he shook. When he was done he handed the wiggling creature to Boots and considered telling her to bring him outside to do his business, but then remembered the outdoor restrooms and decided to let her put him in his crate for the night._

 _After he had tucked Boots in and kissed her and his other sister, Lizzie, goodnight, he headed upstairs to his attic bedroom and tried to sleep._

 _He must have succeeded, because when he awoke, Lizzie was waiting for him._

" _Good morning, Gregor!" Said Lizzie, smiling, "Mom and Mrs. Cormaci prepared a big breakfast for you before you go."_

 _Gregor couldn't believe his ears. He was going back! And he was going to make this trip the best one of his life. No wars. No prophecies. No more warrior. Just time with his friends: Howard, Hazard, Ripred, Vikus, Dulcet, the bats, and Luxa._

" _Okay, tell Mom I'm coming, Liz." He tore off his pajamas, throwing on a red T-shirt, jeans, and mismatching socks. He almost tripped coming down the stairs when he smelled the mouthwatering aroma from the kitchen. His mom and Mrs. Cormaci had prepared a gargantuan breakfast plate of eggs, bacon, hash, raspberries, orange juice, Irish brownies, and a strawberry-banana smoothy. He felt bad not eating all of it, but who could blame him? He was too excited. He was packed with his coat, his best sneakers, a few odds and ends he needed to return to the Underland museum, two flashlights and seven batteries in four minutes._

 _He remembered the time when he had lost his light in the cave while fighting Twirltongue the rat and her buddies and snatched three more batteries. Hopefully he wouldn't be going on any more crazy expeditions, but you could never be sure around Luxa, and who knows? Maybe Sandwich had some super secret prophecy about the ex-warrior written somewhere in Regalia. At 10:24 a.m. he was in Central Park, in front of the boulder which led directly to an Underland passage, with his family around him, wishing him a fun goodbye trip. He crawled down into the hole and, after a last hug, started through the down-sloping tunnel. As he neared the point where the path split, about fifteen feet from the entrance, the rumble began. Softly at first but growing louder every minute. Soon the pebbles at his feet began to quiver and rattle. Suddenly, he was swept up by a golden creature and carried high up toward the cavern's ceiling. He must have been hit by a falling rock, because the last thing he remembered was Boot's confused voice saying: "Mama? Where's Gwegor?"_


	2. Meet Meg

I updated less than an hour ago, but I'm bored. Random beginning of the chapter:

The rat turned toward her. As Meg watched the monster's lip curl into an ugly sneer, she noticed a movement in the corner of her eye. She didn't turn, she couldn't. Then the rat would destroy her one chance of escape. Peeking wouldn't help, anyway, she knew what it was. The same thing which had saved all those other times.

Just as the rat lunged at her throat, a shiny black cockroach the size of a large bicycle swung in and knocked the creature to the ground. " Who are you?" She asked, just like she always did. She waited for him to reply, but was confused by his answer.

"Be you the princess, be you? I be called-"

A large, wet tongue interrupted whatever he was going to say and Meg was smothered in dog drool. Ares had jumped on her again right as she was about to finally uncover the identity of her "hero". Every single night she had the same dream over and over again but she didn't ever get to find out who her rescuer was, all because of her stupid dog, Ares the second. Her family's first dog had been a black labrador also called Ares. Then her parents had bought her older sister, Betsie, a small black and white pomsky called Nike. Why they named their pets after Greek gods and shoe brands? Meg had no clue. Anyway, when she had been given this Husky/Lab mix for Christmas last year, she named it after their beloved deceased retriever.

Every once in awhile Meg wondered why her family was so strange and secretive. But she rarely ever had a chance. With both her parents working full time jobs, and her sister in high school, also trying to earn money at Burger King, it was usually just her and the dogs. Luckily for Meg, though, she never got bored. On a farm, there was always something to do.

She sat up and patted the bed for Ares to jump on. He tensed his muscles and sprang up like a cat, then lay down beside her with his head on her lap, his eyes looking up longingly. She fondled his ears in response, wishing she had the strength to resist his look. She never had the ability to. Her parents often told her that it was her only weakness. It might be true. Meg was smart. She was a grade ahead in homeschool, and was doing many subjects in the grade after the one she occupied. Since she was a farm girl, she could defeat all the kids her age in an arm wrestle or a foot race. Altogether, she was pretty talented. She felt like she should be content. She lived on a farm, so she had all the pets she could think of. Sure, she had quite a few chores, but they were worth it. Her only sibling was Betsie, so it's not like she was lacking her parent's attention, though she sometimes wished she had another sibling.

She pushed Ares away and rolled out of bed, tugged on her clothes and headed outside. When she screeched to a halt next to the henhouse, Ares was spinning and barking with excited anticipation. Hearing the angry squawks of the hungry hens, Meg scrambled to the food shed to supply them with food and water. She undid the latch that separated the chickens from outside and counted down under her breath, "three...two...one...go!"

At this she lifted the door and the greedy poultry hustled down the ramp, bobbing their heads with every step, each wanting to be the first to the lush grass. While they were occupied scratching and pecking, She circled around to the front of the coop and opened the first row of nests. Again, under average. Each nesting box should have at least three eggs. The last few days Ares had nudged the latch to the pen open and snuck into the coop to eat the eggs. She was in charge of grading and selling the produce of the farm. When things like this happened, she was held responsible. She lost that week's allowance, and, since she was saving up for another goat, that was clearly unacceptable.

She turned to punish the sorry mutt and realized he was gone! He must have gone to run in one of the fields. I'll go look for him after my chores are done.

She bathed the show birds, fed the sheep, milked the goats and cows, and turned the knob to to give them and the garden water. Still no sign of Ares. She walked out towards his favorite field, the only one they weren't using for plants or other animals. Sighing with relief when she saw the big black shape bounding toward her, Meg laughed as he began to canter in joyful rings around her, until Ares abruptly decided to race off towards the edge of their large property.

"Ares!" Meg cried, worried all over again, "Get back here! Come! Coome! Argh! Why won't you listen. Fine! Don't come, but whatever you do, don't get into the flowers again.!" She continued to sprint after her disobedient dog. She was pretty fast and caught up to him quickly. She slid to a halt in front of the red pole which marked the end of her family's fields and the beginning of Kevin Levat's beautiful horse pastures. Even from here she could see some of his prize bay Morgans, but no dog. Annoyed, she turned, and gasped. There, only a short distance away was an ancient barn!

I hope I can get some reviews soon. Bye!


	3. Burger King

**HI! I wrote several more chapters last night and am so excited! You will meet my OCs next chapter and I can't wait.**

 **I do not own anything, sadly.**

Lizzie's POV:

Betsy wrapped yet another burger in yellow paper. She was sick of Burger King. Why couldn't I have worked at Walmart or something. She thought. She hated being bored. When she was bored she started to daydream, and when she daydreamed her mind wandered to...

"two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen, seventeen, nineteen, twenty-three…" she quickly began, halting her thoughts. Math was the easiest way to calm Betsy down, so she began to recite prime numbers. By the time she had reached nine-hundred ninety-seven, she had wrapped probably twenty more of the dreaded burgers. Her mind wandered back to her work.

Why had she decided to apply to work here? Thoughts racing once again, Betsy was plucking a defective burger from the batch she was preparing and tossing it into the trash can when she remembered.

He had loved cheeseburgers.

No, no, no! She thought. I can't think about this, for Boots'- she stopped, then corrected herself, for Meg's sake. Gregor is gone! She reprimanded herself, Get over it! But her mind continued to wander. This time she made no move to stop it. Did he really die in the rock fall? She asked herself. Could he have still made it to Regalia? She knew it was unlikely, but she still dreamed of finding another passage to the Underland and finding him at the Underlander's cities, living happily with Luxa, Vikus, and Hazard.

When the earthquake had occurred, all known entrances to the pale skinned people's city had been blocked, sealing her older brother off forever. Since then, her parents had forbidden any mention of Gregor and his adventures, in hopes of letting four year-old Boots forget about them so she, at least could lead a normal life. Pictures were packed in boxes and put in the attic. Nicknames were changed so no memories would resurface. The whole family moved to Virginia, where they began a small farm and the now-called Meg was homeschooled.

It was for the best. Betsy told herself. It is better this way. Meg doesn't remember.

But Betsy still did.

She remembered everything.

The disappearance of her siblings.

The return of her weak father.

The terrible plague that had threatened to wipe out the Underland and, more importantly, her own mother. But Meg had forgotten. She had no inkling of Gregor's previous existence.

Maybe he's still alive. Maybe he'll come back someday. Maybe he- Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing in her pocket. She took it out and held it to her ear.

"Hello, this is Betsy." Her mom's voice answered her, and her worried tone was contagious.

"Liz, you have to come home quickly. Meg and Ares are missing and it seems just like the last time." The last time. The time Gregor and Boots had disappeared. That day had sparked a fire, an inferno that had almost taken her whole family from her, and had taken Gregor. Now Gregor was gone… dead. Lizzie hated the Underland. She knew this with all her might. But what if Boots-Meg-was gone now, too? Lizzie didn't think she could bear losing another sibling. She and Gregor had been pretty close, and even after they'd returned from the Underland for good, they had been good friends. After Gregor… Lizzie broke her train of thought. If she hadn't, she knew she would've started crying, or worse, had a panic attack.

I can't do this, she thought. If Meg is gone-like Gregor-I won't be able to cope. I'll break down. I was already different than before the Underland experiences, and changed again when Gregor died. If Meg is lost, too, I'll…. She made it to her car.

The drive home was short, thank goodness, but right as she turned the bend in the very long, very curvy driveway, a crack crawled across the pavement, cutting her off from the house. Lizzie opened the door and stepped out to inspect the crack. It wasn't too serious, which was good; the family's budget probably wouldn't be able to include new paving, but it seemed to be coming from a large tree on the edge of the driveway. Lizzie observed the large, grand, majestic oak.

It was old, that much was obvious, but Lizzie couldn't immediately spot anything that could've caused the crack. There was a deep hollow between some of the thick roots and the ground, and looked big enough to fit a person. In fact, the hole looked spacious and clean enough for several people. Lizzie crouched to further investigate.

What if this is how Meg go to the Underland? she thought, Meg is definitely curious enough to try to get in. Lizzie poked her head into the hollow. It was even larger than it looked from the outside, and Lizzie carefully lowered herself inside. No obvious tunnels led away from the cave, but a wide crevice at end of the hole drew Lizzie's attention.

The crack was barely broad enough to fit her foot, let alone a whole body, so Lizzie turned to crawl back out of the cave. Before she could even reach the opening, the crevice widened with a crack!, and the muddy stone beneath her feet suddenly was spiderwebbed with pencil-sized fissures.

Lizzie raced for the mouth of the chamber, and her arms grasped a tree root, but she had never been strong, and she found herself unable to pull herself up. As the floor crumbled, and her throbbing arms ached for the muscle she wished she had, Lizzie thought, Maybe now I'll find Gregor. Maybe… maybe we could finally be… a family again. The family mom wished we could've been.

Later Lizzie wondered if she possibly hadn't tried hard enough, hadn't fought her loneliness enough to pull herself out of the hole. She tumbled down through the wispy white currents. Back to the Underland. Where maybe-just maybe-she would find her brother. Her long-lost best friend, who'd disappeared, perhaps died, eight and a half years ago.

 **Please, please, PLEASE! Hit the review button on your way out!**


	4. Conejia

**Hey again, it's me, ! Two reviewers said that I should make my chapters a little longer, so here is a longer chapter. It's starting again with Meg's POV, and if you don't know who that is, I suggest you read my first three chapters.**

 **I do not own GtO or any of it's characters, but I do own my OCs, Ainslyn, Karyssa, and Winston, whom you will meet as soon as you continue reading.**

She stumbled backward in surprise, then galloped forward with curiosity. How could she have missed this? She had explored this field thousands of times. She yanked on the huge sliding door, it stuck.

 _The slider thingy must be rusted with age_. She thought. _Great! Now I can break through the window!_ Unfortunately, the window had already fallen out and shattered on the ground. She checked the other two, both with the same result. _Wow! This place really is old!_ She vaulted through the open frame and found herself falling.

She flailed wildly. What was going on? Had the floorboards rotted away with age? Then what was she falling into? The basement? No, she had been falling too long for that already, or maybe it only seemed like that to her. She opened her eyes, she must have automatically closed them when the panic struck. There were faint wisps of glow around her. Examining them closer, she realized that she was no longer falling, but drifting along on the glowy currents. She listened, and heard a sound like running water and, what was that? Yelling? No sooner had the thought hit her she found herself submerged in rushing water. She surfaced for a moment, spluttering for air.

Air! That's all there was now. Her, the dark water, and the search for that life sustaining element. As she struggled to gain control, she accidentally sucked in a mouthful of water. She exhaled, attempting to rid her mouth of the horrible substance that might be the end of her. That was her downfall. Habitually, her lungs figured that when you push air out, that means that they should take responsibility for bringing some back in, but when they complied, they were rewarded with an entire river, raging to find some new place to inhabit. As she ran out of oxygen, Meg noticed distractedly that this was her dog's fault. Her dumb, young, untrained mutt! She might have cried when she realized she would never see him again, but she couldn't tell. Everything seemed the same now: wet, cold, condemning, and dark. Very, very dark…

"How fares the Overlander, Winston, does she still live?" Some quiet voice asked.

"We know not, Your Majesty." Another answered, "The creature guards her from us, we aren't sure if it is dangerous, but it growls and lets out a loud, ferocious noise when we walk too near."

Meg thought she must be dreaming, maybe she had hit her head on a rock and was right now dying from suffocation. _No_ , she thought, _I'm definitely NOT dreaming,_ as she shifted to remove a very real and very painful jabbing rock. She opened her eyes and called, "Ares!" She was rewarded with a welcoming growl and saw her beautiful dog prancing around her. He bounced inward to lick her face, then bounced back and circled around again before repeating the action.

Meg sat up and shrieked in pain. She looked down and saw a bruise the size of her foot forming on her leg. Ares barked and as she wheeled around she howled again. Through her now blurry sight she saw two figures, a man and a young woman. They tried to come closer, but Ares growled warningly and crawled toward her. "Who are you?" Meg asked, examining them closer.

They were the strangest people she had ever seen. The girl was tall. She had thick, dark hair and dark green eyes. Not the kind of green you would normally see in natural eye colors. This was a beautiful, bright, pine tree green. Meg turned towards the man. He, upon further examination, was not a man, but a teenager, maybe fifteen. He had the same dark hair and pale skin, and Meg realized they must be siblings. She looked at his eyes, expecting to find the same result, but instead she found an ocean blue.

"I am Ainslyn, " Said the girl, and Meg noticed the kind twinkle in her strange eyes, "And this is my brother, Winston. " The boy bowed formally,

"Welcome, Overlander to Conejia, City of the Weepers." Declared the boy, er, Winston, with exaggerated drama, like this was totally normal and they were just messing around. "What is this creature who guards you from us? Ares, you called him? What is that noise he is making?" He asked, then looked at her expectantly.

Meg decided not to answer, but instead raised her own question, "Where am I?" Ainslyn answered this time, "In the Underland, Overlander, We are the Halflanders and this is the city of the Weepers, Conejia." That didn't help Meg's confusion, "Weepers? Do you guys cry a lot or something? And why are you Halflanders if this is the Underland? What is the Underland anyway? And are you calling me Overlander?" She realized that this might be offending, but she didn't care, all she wanted was to fix her injury, get her dog, and go home.

The girl just laughed, "You live in the Overland, do you not? And this is the land below it. And no, we do not cry often, the Weepers are creatures, they make a sound like a weep, like this," she emitted a short high-pitched upward drawling sound, like 'Vreeeeaaeep, vwaeeeap.'

Before Meg could ask a another question, she saw what looked like a large solid gate with a humongous carving of a... guinea pig? More questions sped through her brain… _Why is there a guinea pig on the door? What is a weeper?_ And most importantly, _How do I get home?_ She decided to ignore the first two questions and focus on the last one. Again she asked.

"Okay, guys, this is interesting and all but I should get…" she was interrupted by a long, creaky sound as the gate suddenly opened and a large guinea pig walked through. She stared, stupefied, for to her it had seemed like the mural had come to life and an armored rodent had walked through the gate as a result. Meg's stare still hadn't faded when her mouth dropped open as well so that she was now gaping at young girl with the now familiar pale skin, long, dark auburn hair, and grass green eyes,sitting in a saddle on the guinea pig! Meg turned to look at Ainslyn and her brother, to see if they were as bewildered as she was. But they just smiled at her questioning gaze and focused on the matter at hand.

"Karyssa," Ainslyn began, now serious, "what news do you bring? Did they succeed?"

The new girl, Karyssa, the guinea pig rider, shook her head solemnly, "No, they are here, you'd better saddle up." She turned to Winston, "Go the stables and get the Overlander a ride." Winston nodded.

Meg considered running. What if these people were like the ancient Aztecs she had been studying in homeschool, who sacrificed certain people to their gods when they needed their crops to grow and stuff, _you certainly would need godly help if you wanted to grow something down here,_ Meg thought, then tensed, ready to sprint, but realized that Ares had migrated toward the guinea pig and was sniffing curiously along the rodent's belly. Then the most unexpected thing happened, but then again, Meg wondered if it really was so spectacular, seriously, if people could live miles underground and ride giant armored rodents, why couldn't guinea pigs talk? It wheeled around to look at Ares, who had touched his nose to the creature's torso and was glancing back guiltily, and it declared, "What is that species? Wreeeaeeep?"

 **I hope you like it so far! Please review. Also, Ainslyn, Karyssa, and Winston have twin younger brothers, about seven or eight. I would like names for them and their Weepers. Bye, and please hit the review button on your way out, maybe submitting a name or two...**


	5. The Matchmakers

**Back again! A reviewer was wondering about the names I requested. Any boy's names will work, though rhyming or slant rhyming names would be nice, also, you can submit names for the boys' guinea pigs.**

Meg probably would have fainted if she hadn't already reached the limit of her bewilderment. Even so, she decided to turn her back to the articulating animal. "Okay." she asked, "I'm talking to the Queen of the Underland and her older brother, who are now conversing with a girl who is riding a talking guinea pig about getting me a ride and then I'm assuming that we're going to go and meet whoever 'is here' and then I-" Winston cut her off.

"Don't worry, Overlander. All of your questions will be answered in due time. Meanwhile, how would you like to go meet your mount."

Meg turned towards him expectantly. "Wait, are you seriously asking me to go pick out a guinea pig?" she asked, "I would LOOOOOOOVE to."

As Winston led Meg to the stables, she would not stop talking."Ok, so how do actually choose a guinea pig?" she asked.

He didn't turn his head as he answered "first of all, they are called Weepers, not guinea pigs. They are certainly not anything like pigs. But we usually try to match your personality to theirs. You will meet our elected Matchmakers who will determine which branch to start in, but the choice is ultimately up to you."

Meg wasn't satisfied. She wanted to learn all about these mysterious creatures. "Which one is yours?" She asked, gesturing towards the rows of stalls and doors. In response, he led her to the very end of the corridor where five doors stood, obviously the most important of the rooms.

"This is where the royal mounts live." He pointed to the first door. "my weeper is called Wineera." he said, "the next two belong to my sisters, Ainslyn and Karyssa, whom you've met already, the other two are for our youngest siblings who you'll see soon." He opened his door and stepped inside, and motioned for Meg to do the same. She slipped in and closed the door behind her. As Meg took in her new surroundings, Winston put a saddle and bridle on Wineera, a black and red mottled guinea pig with amber eyes. She was even bigger than the other weepers she'd seen and Meg was quite intimidated by the idea of riding her. But when Winston was done tacking up, she climbed obediently into the saddle behind him. The rodent was surprisingly fast for such short legs and Winston took them out of the stables and up to a small, white building.

"This is the Matchmaker's office," he explained, "they handle many different tasks, but today we're just here for your weeper, so don't ask about anything else you see."

As she stepped into the office after him, she wondered what the other mysterious 'tasks' were that the 'Matchmakers' handled, though she thought that their name might have given away one of them.

She followed Winston into a small, brightly lit room furnished with only a desk and three simple chairs. When she asked him about odd decor, he just said, "to limit the distractions."

He motioned for her to sit down and she obliged, taking the seat facing him. "Well," he began, "I did promise you some answers, so until Sir Gazelle arrives, you get to ask the questions." It took all of Meg's effort not to burst into a fit of giggles, and the result was her face twisting into something between a 'You just said the funniest thing I've ever heard' and a 'Yuck! What is that smell?'

Winston looked at her strangely so she elaborated, "you said his name is Sir Gazelle."

He stared at her blankly, and Meg realized that he might have never heard of a gazelle. "Oh. Never mind." She decided. "Kay, so you said something about answers?"

For the next half hour, he explained the basic history of the Underland and the Halflanders. Apparently, the Native Americans were the first to discover the Underland, but no one had actually thought to live there until some british guy called Sandwich, (which Meg totally got a kick out of,) led a small band of people there and built a city known as Regalia. The people lived there for several hundred years and developed super-pale skin, ash blond hair, and beautiful violet eyes. They soon became known as the Underlanders.

"But you said that your city is called Conejia. Where is Regalia? Why did you change your name to Halflander?"

Winston continued, telling her that about sixty years after the Sandwich dude, a few others led some Native Americans into the Underland, and when they saw how peaceful it was compared to the world above, which was currently at war, they decided to build a settlement.

"This small settlement turned into Conejia, where you are now." he told her, "Regalia has been all but forgotten and the only reason we do not call it a fairy tale is because, about eight years ago, several gnawers, rats, as you call them, arrived here, saying that they came from Regalia, searching for an Overlander, like you. But until you appeared, we have only had one survive the fall. They said that they had uncovered a prophecy, and they needed 'the Princess' the younger sister of 'the Warrior', this of course, made no sense to us, so we gave them supplies and sent them on their way, but–"

Winston was interrupted by the door. In stepped a man with very pale skin, short, curly black hair, and lime green eyes. He introduced himself as Sir Gazelle and told her that she would be asked some key questions to use to find her branch of weeper.

She was asked what she liked. From colors to foods to types of weather. She was asked what she disliked. From animals to hair types to music varieties. After what seemed like hours, he finally left with his notes, muttering under his breath about 'uncivilized Overlanders' causing Winston to have to restrain Meg to keep her from charging.

While they waited for the results to come in, Winston showed Meg how to groom Wineera, as well as how to tack her up, and how to remove it. He said she was a natural, and she tried unsuccessfully to hide her growing blush, saying that she had practice with her goats and dogs. Eventually Sir Gazelle opened the little door and called them back in.

Meg was handed a yellowed parchment with a list of names.

"Looks like most of your matches are amateurs." Winston told her.

"Excuse me?" Meg asked, slightly offended. Winston chuckled,

"That means they don't have a defined character. They haven't manifested a fruit."

Meg remained confused. "'Manifested a fruit'? What does that mean?"

Winston smiled again, "each weeper's eyes turn a certain color that defines their character. That is called manifesting." He led her to a door painted to resemble a rainbow.

"This is the room where they are held. Once they manifest they will be put into one of the seven separate wings: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, or royal. Depending on their fruit." He led her inside and she entered a room full of the cutest things she'd ever seen.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Look at that guinea pig! IT'S ADORABLE!" She went over to one and started talking to it, while Winston covered his ears just in case she screamed again. Next thing he knew he was walking an amatueur weeper named Nitzae out of the room.

"Wait I have one more question?" she just had to ask. "How long do guinea pigs live to be? I mean since it is different here."

Winston hesitated, obviously nervous about another squeal, but she finally perrsuaded him to talk. "They can live to be almost one hundred years old." He winced, preparing himself for a shriek, but Meg just had another question.

"Wait a second, so she's like really young then right?" she asked, almost exploding with excitement.

"Well she'll probably live till about the time you die, so yeah." That's when the scream came. Winston soon covered her mouth and told her to be quiet.

"Wait, why?" she asked.

"Because in our land that generally means that–" he was cut off by Ainslyn, who had just run in and was breathing heavily.

"Is anything the matter? I heard a scream and came as quick as I could." she asked frantically.

"No. It was only the Overlander excited about her new weeper." Winston replied with a smile.

"Overlander, do other overlanders scream when they're excited?" Ainslyn asked.

" Yep. And you can call me Meg… that's what everyone at home calls me." said Meg.

"Well with all do respect, Overlander–er–Meg, here in our village when ever someone screams it means that they are in danger or enemies are attacking," she replied, her face as serious as the stone walls.

 **Bye! Hope you liked it! Pleeeaaase review!**


	6. Filler Chapter

**Hey, guys! Special thank you to and pyro159 for their encouraging reviews.**

 **I think this is what you long-time fanfictioners would call a filler chapter. It's really short, but the 'old family friend' is coming soon! *Squeals in excitment and anticipation***

"Attacked?" Meg asked. "How often do you guys get attacked down here? You made it seem like there aren't a lot of people around." Ainslyn, still solemn and dignified, replied curtly.

"There are still others." She turned, mounted her weeper, and left, her back as straight as a ramrod. Winston looked at Meg apologetically.

"She's not usually like this, you know. Our father died recently and she now rules the city. She bears a great burden."

"But aren't you older than her?" Meg asked. "Wouldn't that make you heir?"

"That is a touchy subject for my family," Winston told her, his expression becoming distant. "Best you not mention it to my sisters. In a nutshell: I am often away on… missions. Because of this my dad and I weren't very close. I never wanted to rule and my parents both liked Ainslyn better, anyway." He twisted his fingers nervously so Meg changed the subject.

"What did she mean by others?" Meg asked, yearning to know more about this mysterious new world.

"To start off, the most common creatures are blurs. I believe the Overland calls them dragonflies, only they're much bigger here," Winston explained. "A few others are nibblers–mice, gnawers–rats, and shiners–really lazy fireflies," he paused. "But the true threats are the prickers. They are also known as hedgehogs." Meg's mind was instantly filled with pictures of cute little tan rodents covered in tiny spikes. On a field trip once she had held one, and had been amazed at how cuddly it was, and how soft the spines were when she petted them. Unintentionally, she giggled.

"What is funny?" Winston asked, obviously perplexed.

"Nothing, really," Meg chuckled. "But back home, hedgehogs are pretty nice. They're sometimes used as pets."

"The Overland is very different from your world."

"I noticed."

Winston showed her to the tack room, where she picked out a light gray harness and a turquoise saddle for Nitzae. She stroked a patch of her guinea pig's dark brown fur.

"Those are my favorite colors," the weeper said softly.

Winston led Meg out of the stables and to a palace. In the courtyard, several fine-dressed half-landers mulled around with their weepers, but Meg was escorted right to the throne room, where Karyssa was waiting for them.

"OOH! Hi, Meg! You got Nitzae! Did you know that she's Traen, my weeper's, younger sister? This is awesome! How do you like her?" Karyssa was by far the friendliest half-lander Meg had met yet. The only similarity between her and Ainslyn was their dark hair. Winston and Karyssa definitely seemed the most alike, with their bright green eyes and cheerful personalities, they severely contrasted their solemn sister.

"She's great!" Meg told the over-excited princess.

"Good, because we're about to go to battle." _Oh, boy,_ Meg thought. _THIS IS AWESOME!_


	7. Fighting Hedgehogs

**I just updated this morning, but the chapter was really short so I decided to do another. I also realized that I haven't done a disclaimer in forever so here we go!**

 **Gregor: Nope. Won't read it. I DON'T BELONG TO ANYBODY!**

 **Luxa: Yes, you do.**

 **Gregor: And you're OK with this?**

 **Luxa: I have come to terms with reality.**

 **Maia:** A.N: You'll meet her in the next few chapters. **You know what? I'll just do it!**

 _ **Other than the plot, Winston, Karyssa, Ainslyn, Nitzae, Traen, Wineera, Kreera, and TEMlovesbantam's other OCs, TEMlovesbantams does not own Underland Chronicles or its characters.**_ **There! Was that so hard?**

 **Gregor & Luxa: Yes!**

Discovery: fighting hedgehogs the size of elephants is not awesome. Especially when you're riding an armor-clad guinea pig and have never used a sword before.

Meg shifted in the saddle for the bazillionth time. Thankfully, Winston had put her in the back lines, where almost no one got injured. Nitzae seemed reasonably calm, but Meg thought that might be because she was protected by several large plates of hard metal. Meg only yielded a long, thin, double-edged sword, which was still in its sheath.

"You ready?" Karyssa asked. She appeared unfazed by, even bored with the oncoming troops of behemoth hedgehogs.

"Uh…"

"Don't worry," Karyssa assured her, "If you get hurt or cornered, I'll be right next to you. And there's always the caves."

"The caves?" Meg asked.

"If someone is injured, they retreat to the caves, and the scouts will retrieve them after the battle. The openings to the caves are too small for the prickers to fit through, and they are stocked with enough food and water for a week."

"Oh," Meg said, "that's nice." She made a silent plan to run to the caves as soon as the prickers charged. Truthfully, when Karyssa had said they'd be going to battle the prickers, Meg had imagined thousands of knights on horseback rushing towards a few hundred hedgehogs the size of labradors, but these were _way_ bigger than Ares. At the moment, Meg's enthusiastic hound was sitting in a feather-stuffed king-sized mattress, eating whole boneless chickens, and being tended to by five servants who called him 'master', cowering whenever he barked. _Lucky mutt._

A horn blew in the distance, and Karyssa hefted her cavalry sword. Meg reluctantly drew her weapon. It felt too heavy and far too long, but it was her only means of defense, so she held it in front of her boldly.

"Meg," Karyssa said, "when they come, try to-"

The prickers charged.

Meg had expected the two small armies to rush towards each, yelling war cries, but the Halflander troops stood where they were, quavering in expectation. When the front lines received the spiny rodents, they swept their swords horizontally as one, slicing off the prickers on the prickers' backs. For the greater part of the battle, Meg stayed where she was with Karyssa, only facing three hedgehogs in all.

At one point Karyssa got sidetracked with an enormous beast trying to corner Ainslyn. Meg was left watching, and a hedgehog got close enough to headbutt Nitzae in the side, scarring her armor plates with deep scratches, Meg swung her sword, managing to chop off a few inches off the top of the creature's spines. As the pricker advanced again, Meg jabbed her sword at his face, but the hilt slipped from her grasp dropping unheeded to the trampled grass.

"Oh, come on!" Meg cried.

Right as the pricker was about to topple Nitzae over, a silver blade appeared out of nowhere and stabbed the huge animal in the chest. Meg glanced behind her in time to see Winston duck behind a mob of hedgehogs, all of whom he slayed quickly. He shot her a quick wink and faded back into the battle.

Now weaponless, Meg urged Nitzae toward the towering cliffs that edged the battlefield. Since they were at the back of the Halflander warriors, they only passed a few prickers, which they quickly dodged. Several craggy openings were visible to weeper and rider, and Nitzae rushed into the nearest one.

Content that the opening was too small for a hedgehog to fit through, Meg dismounted and made herself comfortable on one of the sleeping bags stored at the back of the cave. A cool stream gurgled in front of the entrance, and Meg drank her fill. After probably twenty minutes of rest, Meg decided to explore. Upon exploration, it was discovered that three other caves joined the one Meg was in. The first two were empty, but when Meg approached the third, she saw the faint flicker of candlelight. She advanced cautiously, and peeked around the corner of the wall. What she saw made her gasp. She flung her hand over her mouth and retreated to where Nitzae was resting, and leaned against the gently snoring guinea pig to collect her thoughts.

Winston had told her about some of the other inhabitants of the Underland, and Meg shuffled through her memories, searching for one that described what was she had seen in the other cave. Blurs, nibblers, fliers, twisters, hissers, cutters, crawlers, flashers…

Gnawers. That's what they were called. Giant, talking 's what she had glimpsed. Shaggy black fur, ragged ears, a long, hairless tail, and a scarred, hunched body. A giant rat.

 _I hate all these big animals._ Suddenly, Meg was hit with a wave of homesickness. Ever since she fell through her barn floor, so many new and interesting things had so distracted her that she hadn't even had a chance to think about her family, but in the dark cave, resting against Nitzae, listening to her rhythmic breathing, she realized that her parents were probably beside themselves with worry. She had been gone for almost a day, so her mom had most likely notified the police. Through the roar of her thoughts, Meg could hear her own sobs, but the flood of homesickness overwhelmed her.

"Lizzie?" a deep, throaty voice asked. Meg looked up and saw the gnawer from the other cave standing over her. For some odd reason, she wasn't afraid of him.

"No. I'm Meg."

He observed her, and Meg had the weird feeling that he was scanning her, looking right through her and seeing what she was thinking.

"Ripred," He growled.

 **Heehee! There's the 'old family friend' mentioned in the summary! Most of you had probably already guessed who it was, but it was fun to write, anyway. I just realized that I haven't replied to reviews.**

 **QuilAndInk9037- Thank you so much!**

 **pyro159- Good prediction! Don't worry, he'll appear somewhere in the story, but Ripred is needed now. BTW, that was the longest review I've ever seen!**

 **\- This story is not set directly after the series, so Gregor was thirteen at the beginning of this story and Boots was five. Currently, Gregor is about twenty and Meg is almost thirteen, (I know that's not quite eight years but it still works.) I personally like Winston & Meg, too, but my co-writer, who doesn't do Fanfiction, is a firm Hazard & Meg shipper, so I don't really know.**

 **Ssi'ruuk- Yeah, whoops, sorry. It's supposed to be Winston saying either, "The Overland is very different from our world," or "The Underland is very different from your world."**


	8. Regalia

**Hi everyone! Just letting you know this chapter continues immediately after the last one. Have fun reading!**

"You're a rat," Meg told Ripred.

"Yes, I am. Thank you for pointing that out."

"Uhh…" Meg backed away. She still wasn't afraid of the giant talking rodent, but since she felt like she should be, she fumbled for Nitzae's reins. The weeper stirred.

"What's going- What is _that_?" For some crazy reason, Meg defended Ripred.

" _That,_ " she explained, "Is Ripred the gnawer, The Peacemaker."

"The who?" Nitzae asked. Meg blinked. She had no idea where the title had come from, but she _knew,_ somehow, that Ripred was called the Peacemaker.

"I... " A memory, faint, blurry, and hidden under eight and a half years of dust and grief, slipped into view. Meg grasped for it, but it stayed tantalizingly out of reach. As she reached for it, another appeared in the corner of her mind.

"You're Ripred the gnawer, Rager and Peacemaker, mentor of the warrior." She tried to pry more from her brain, but it pulled the thought away, leaving Meg confused and frustrated.

"Yes," Ripred growled. "I'm assuming you don't remember?" His expression was impossible to read.

"I don't know. I-I do, but I… don't."

"Thanks for clearing that up."

Meg scrambled through her memories for more information, but she came up empty-whatever you search a brain with-ed. She vaguely remembered a name. Temp. She had no clue what that meant, but it was something, and she held on to it strongly. She also could picture a face. It was blurry and faded, but she could make out warm, brown eyes and a kind smile. He looked so familiar, so loved, but Meg couldn't place a name or title. It left her with an empty, unfinished feeling.

"Come with me," Ripred growled. He seemed to do that a lot.

"Why?" Meg asked. "I just met you." Ripred was already crawling down a tunnel, and he didn't turn as he growled,

"Do it. I know who you are." That really freaked her out, but Meg's curiosity got the better of her. The tunnel opened back onto the battlefield. Apparently, more time had passed than she had realized, because the field was quiet and still, the starry night and gentle breeze made it feel almost peaceful.

Peaceful. Peacemaker. Where had that name come from? Meg mentally scrolled through names, titles, and events she had heard of. Only two stood out to her. Nike. Ares.

"Do you know anyone named Ares?"

Ripred's stride faltered. "No."

"You're lying."

He turned his head so she couldn't see his eyes. "It's complicated. That's why we need to hurry."

Meg climbed onto Nitzae, who had been walking beside her. She contemplated all of Ripred's mysterious comments. How did Ripred know her? Who was Lizzie? Why did Ripred think Meg was her? How did Meg know who Ripred was? She soon fell asleep on Nitzae's back.

 _The rat turned toward her. As Meg watched the monster's lip curl into an ugly sneer, she noticed a movement in the corner of her eye. She didn't turn, she couldn't. Then the rat would destroy her one chance of escape. Peeking wouldn't help, anyway, she knew what it was. The same thing which had saved all those other times._

 _Just as the rat lunged at her throat, a shiny black cockroach the size of a labrador swung in and knocked the creature to the ground. " Who are you?" She asked, just like she always did. She waited for him to reply, but was confused by his answer,_

" _Be you the princess, be you? I be called-"_

"Overlander," Nitzae murmured. "Overlander, you must see this." Meg shot awake. Why did her brain program her dreams so that they always stopped right before the important parts? Ripred was watching them from his perch on a large rock. After her dream, Meg felt uneasy about traveling with the gnawer, but she had no idea about how to get back to Conejia, so she stood, brushed herself off, and tried to look as dignified as possible with guinea pig hair stuck to her face and a nightmare bedhead.

"Where are we?" she asked. As usual, Ripred didn't turn to see her and growled,

"The Underland capital. Regalia." _Regalia._ Winston had told her about the legendary city, but Meg hadn't put much thought into it. No matter where you went, there were always mythical places no one actually believed in: Atlantis, Shangri-la, the Fountain of Youth, El Dorado. Why would Regalia be any different?

Meg turned so she was looking the same direction as Ripred. At first she didn't see anything through the heavy mist, but she eventually made out a city, all a bluish-gray color, and a castle in the center. "We're going there?" Meg asked. Ripred just looked at her.

"Okay," Meg said. "Only a question. You don't have to answer." Ripred led her to a river, which appeared to run out of the city.

"Follow it upstream," Ripred told her. "It'll lead you to the palace. When you arrive, find the queen. Tell her Ripred the Peacemaker sent you. She'll let you in, and you might even find some friends at the castle."

"Wait," Meg pleaded. Suddenly the whole plan had changed, and though she didn't trust Ripred, she didn't want to head into a legendary city of strangers without him. "Why can't you come, too?"

"I have business elsewhere," Ripred stated. Meg noticed that he seemed to be stuck somewhere else, so he really wasn't focused on her. Without warning, the strange rat bounded away, his long tail streaming behind him.

"Wait!" Meg shouted, but the infuriating gnawer was already gone.

There was nothing else to do, so Meg led Nitzae along the riverside, towards the misty city. After an hour or so, Meg rested to sooth her aching feet, while Nitzae groomed her fur free of tangles and mud. Still annoyed with Ripred for abandoning them, Meg mounted her weeper and continued upstream. When the river reached the city wall, the two travelers began following the tall, gray barrier up to the gates.

Two armored figures stood guard over the gates. When they spotted Meg and Nitzae, the taller one whispered to the slimmer, shorter one before heading towards the girl and guinea pig. Meg was struck by a wave of fear. What if these were enemies? The Underland seemed kind of old-fashioned. What if they executed trespassers? Ripred probably wouldn't have sent them here if they did that, but what if that was plan all along? But if that was the case, then why didn't he just kill her in the caves?

Before Meg could decide whether or not to run for it, the tall guard reached them. She stared at his visored face, trying to see his features, but it was too dark. The guard studied Nitzae, then Meg, as if they were museum exhibits on display. Meg could practically read the sign: _Thirteen year-old Overlander and her talking guinea pig, limited time only!_

"You're an Overlander," the guards said, his deep voice echoing in his helmet.

"Uh, yeah," Meg said, twisting her fingers. She still wasn't quite sure what to say when people addressed her by that title. "Is that okay?"

The guard didn't answer for a second, and just when Meg decided that she was about to be thrown in a dungeon, he let out a deep, melodic laugh.

"Yes. That is fine. Overlanders are always welcome." His voice sounded friendly. Warm and musical. He reached up, and his gloved hands pulled off his helmet. It was kind of like in a movie, when the warrior takes off his helmet, his hair comes out looking perfect, and he twists his head a little, dramatically, making his dark, wavy hair bounce. The guard's face was pale. Not as pale as Ainslyn's, but close, and his eyes were light green, exactly the same color as limes. He was probably only sixteen, but he was taller, and seemed older.

"I'm Hazard," the guard said, "I'm very interested in your mount, but that must wait. My cousin would like to meet you."

"Your cousin?" Meg asked. "I was told I needed to speak with the queen." Hazard's eyes twinkled.

"Don't worry, you'll meet her soon." He led her and Nitzae through the streets, and Meg could help but marvel at the city's beauty. Before long, they arrived at the palace, where they rode a weird elevator-thingie that brought them into an empty throne room. Meg assumed she would meet the queen there, since that's what always happened in movies, but Hazard continued to walk through endless hallways, each grander than the last. Finally, they stopped in front of a plain door.

"Wait a moment," Hazard told her, "I must speak with Luxa." He slipped through the door, not opening quite far enough for Meg to see inside. She waited for only a few minutes before he returned, this time with a young woman. She had even paler skin than Hazard, so many veins were visible, and her ash blond hair was tied in an intricate ponytail.

"This is Mitsa," Hazard told her. "She'll take your mount to an appropriate lodging." Mitsa and Nitzae walked down one of the many hallways, and Hazard brought Meg into the room. It was very simple, but it was also cozy in it's own way; airy and bright to keep it from feeling tight, but small enough to feel homey and comfortable. Only one person was in the room. She was as pale as Mitsa, and her silvery blond hair hung around her shoulders. She wasn't tall, but when she stood, Meg could tell she was used to being in charge. Her violet eyes met Meg's dark brown ones, and Meg had the odd sensation that she should know this woman.

"The Overlander," she said. "I am Luxa, queen of Regalia." Meg studied Luxa, and noticed a scar running along the queen's pale forehead.

"I'm Meg. I was told to tell you that Ripred the Peacemaker sent me. He said that you would know who I am."

The queen's penetrating gaze reminded Meg of Ainslyn's, but Meg still couldn't shake off the idea that she had met Luxa before.

"Ripred sent you?" Luxa asked. "That is odd. He hasn't been near any of the openings to the Underland since Gregor returned." Meg had a feeling the queen was wondering aloud to herself, but she was curious, and she wanted more information.

"Who's Gregor?"

Luxa's eyes softened. "You are not the first Overlander to have come to Regalia," she explained, "and Gregor is one of the others." She walked to the door and disappeared. Meg was confused at first, but then Hazard motioned for her to follow the strange queen, and Meg was winding through the endless hallways once again. Meg was growing tired of being constantly brought to different places, then whisked away to another, with just enough information to make her curious, but not enough to actually answer a single question.

She caught up with Luxa in an empty arena, where the grass was instead moss, and the ceiling so far up it was hidden by mist. Luxa was sitting on a huge, golden bat, and Meg was quite proud of herself for not being the least surprised when it talked.

"So this is the Overlander," the bat mused. "You look familiar, somehow, but let us worry about other things." Meg was about to ask what other things when the bat yelled, "Echo!"

Meg blinked. _Echo?_ Was the bat trying to see if her voice would echo in the arena? Instead of an echo, a light brown bat swept out of nowhere, circled overhead a few times, and landed gracefully next to Luxa.

"Meg, this is Echo," Luxa introduced. "She is Aurora's daughter." She gestured to the golden bat. Before Meg even had a chance to say _Ohhh!,_ another bat, this time dark brown, flew in, and Meg could make out a tall figure on its back.

"Hello, Luxa, Aurora," the young man said, nodding in turn to each, and Meg was pretty sure she saw Luxa blush. "I see we have a guest." He smiled at Meg, and a memory tickled the back of her brain.

"I'm Gregor, Warrior of Regalia."

 **AGH! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M LEAVING YOU HERE! Actually, I can, but I can't believe he's finally here! So excited! If you liked this chapter, please review! If you didn't, then review anyway, since constructive criticism is welcome, but no flames, please.**


	9. Settling In

"Hi. I'm Meg," Meg introduced herself. "So you're another Overlander."

Gregor's smile filled Meg with warmth. His skin was a pale coffee brown, and Meg was pretty sure he'd be quite handsome with some sun. His short brown hair was wavy and thick. Most interesting were his eyes.

They were dark brown, to match his light chocolate complexion, but they held so many different emotions Meg could tell that this man wasn't a normal young adult. He had a depth that testified to much sadness and hardship, but he was kind and gentle; his scars were witness to many battles, and though he was physically fit and strong, Meg was sure his mind and heart hadn't emerged entirely unscathed.

Meg blinked. After only meeting Gregor for thirty seconds, she felt like she had known him for years. And Luxa, she didn't feel like a stranger, either. Meg was at home and comfortable in this underground universe, even though she had family and a life in Virginia.

"Yes. I am an Overlander," Gregor responded to her previous statement. "Unlike you, however, I came through when I was eleven along with my sister. I fell in love, and against my mom's will I returned when I was thirteen. Unfortunately, all known entrances to the Overland collapsed in an earthquake."

"Oh." What he said seemed so familiar, so common, Meg was sure that her parents or sister must have mentioned it before, but her memory shunned her, and she ended up back where she was: confused and irked.

"Ripred sent you?" Gregor asked.

"Yeah. I was at another city but there was a battle so I had to hide in a cave and he found me there. Then he brought me here and left me, telling me to find the queen."

Luxa smiled. "I must apologize on behalf of my hasty bond. Ripred wanted you to be safe, but he's on a… quest that cannot wait."

"Bond?" Meg queried. Now that he seemed to be in a place where she could remain for a while, she wanted to learn all she could.

"A bond is when two creatures, usually a bat and a human, link themselves as forever friends," Gregor explained. "Luxa, on the other hand, has two bonds. One with Aurora, her flier, and one with Ripred for the sake of peace between the species."

"Who's your bond?" Meg wondered. Gregor's face darkened, but he answered,

"Maia, here." He gestured to the dark brown bat he had been riding. She's not my first bond, but she's a wonderful friend and extraordinary flier." Luxa and all the bats looked down as he said this, and Meg felt fairly certain that Gregor wouldn't be saying anything further on this subject. She'd need to interrogate Luxa later.

Gregor showed her to her new quarters. He also told her that Echo would be her flier while she was in Regalia and that Nitzae was safe in appropriate housing.

Echo was young and hyper. She and Gregor's bond, Maia, were sisters. Aurora was their mother, but they hadn't mentioned their father. Compared to some of the other bats Meg had seen, Echo was relatively small, but she was super fast and agile, and she talked more than most of the other fliers. She was lighter colored than Maia, but not as bright as her mother, with a creamy, light brown coat and slightly darker points, like a bat version of a siamese cat.

When she wasn't being ridden by Meg, showing her Regalia, Echo was playing with her three friends, Hermes, Calypso, and Thalia. The other three bats were siblings, the triplet children of a white and black striped bat named Nike. After introductions, Meg had gleaned that Hermes, the gray striped bat, was named after his father and had no bond; Calypso, the reddish brown bat, had no bond; and Thalia, the creamy white bat, was named after a deceased friend and bonded to Hazard.

Unlike Echo, her friends were calm and quiet, talking rarely and focusing more on the serious matters. When Meg was introduced to Nike, the bats' mother, she thought of her pomsky dog, also named Nike, and the two's similar coloring. It was when this happened that she officially decided that her family had some connection with the Underland. Luxa had mentioned other openings, so maybe they had met someone from the strange world. Ripred? He acted like he'd recognized her, so he was a possibility.

"So how'd you get that?" Meg asked, pointing to a long scar in Nike's wing.

"That is one of the more minor injuries I acquired while in the jungle," the bat replied, impassive.

"Oh. Why were you in the jungle?" Meg could feel Nike getting annoyed at her questions, but she was on a roll.

"There was a prophecy. We went with Luxa, Hazard, his father, Hamnet, Gregor, Ripred, two other rats, and Howard, my bond."

"What happened to Hamnet?"

"He was killed in a battle."

"Who were you battling?"

"Cutters."

"Who are the cutters?"

Nike was seething now, if you could call it seething for a bat. "Ants, as you _Overlanders_ call them." Meg began to back away when she heard the tone Nike was using, but before she got very far, she bumped into someone. Meg wheeled around on her heel, prepared to fight.

"Whoa, there," the new Underlander said, making a faked scared face. "No need for violence. I'm Howard. I must apologize on behalf of my bond. She's had a bit of a rough day." He put his arm around Nike's neck jokingly. Nike politely but firmly shrugged it off.

"I'm Meg. You're friends with Luxa, Gregor, and Hazard?" Meg asked, relaxing her body so her fists were no longer clenched.

"Well, I'm Luxa's cousin, actually. And, yeah, you could say I'm friends with them. So many life-or-death situations together I've lost count," he replied. After meeting Dulcet, Mareth, Vikus, Hazard, and now Howard since she came to Regalia, Meg had decided that the Underlanders were overall pretty friendly. Her pleasant conversation with the young man faltered. Hazard wasn't a true Regalian. He couldn't be; he had dark hair and green eyes. Despite his pale skin he looked nothing like the other inhabitants of the city she'd been introduced to. He must have been a Halflander, but if so, why hadn't he said anything when she mentioned Conejia.

She continued asking Howard questions so she would wonder what she was thinking, because it would probably be rude to tell him, but she was fascinated with the puzzle the rest of day, and into the night.

It was late, and all the lanterns had been put out, but Meg couldn't sleep. It wasn't just the throbbing inquiry about Hazard's race, but also homesickness. She hadn't felt it for a whole week, since she'd been in the cave with Ripred, but this was just as strong, if not more so. Betsie; her mom; her dad; Ares and Nike; even her show bantams.

She still had Ares' red harness and she it out and held it against her cheek, ignoring the dog fur and crusty drool. After what seemed like forever, wonderful sleep finally blessed her with its presence. Her dreams were of home, but they were hazy and ran together like vertical watercolor, forgotten by morning. However, a far better time than dreams lay ahead of her, even though Meg didn't know it yet. Sorrow and pain, an even death came with it, but they were muddy in the background, causing the positive moments to stand out even more.

 **Tada! Chapter done! Sorry about the long wait, but anyway, Happy Easter! Thanks to all those reviewers**

 **God bless!**


	10. The Song

**Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. Here's your chappie!**

When Meg woke, she had a weird moment where she didn't know where she was.

The bed was strangely comfortable and soft, and the room was dim, but there was something so eerily familiar, so aggravatingly close, that Meg's head began to ache behind her eyes. It was inexplainable, so she tossed it to the far end of her mind, where it itched her thoughts and irritated her attention.

Then she she remembered how she had run from Conejia and how Ripred had taken her here, to Regalia, where she met many strange people/creatures. Echo, the bat she was growing fond of, and Gregor, the mysterious young man who seemed to have lived longer than he'd been alive.

The whole day passed in a blur. In fact, the whole week passed in a blur. Echo gave her a tour of the city and she met even more Underlanders. Vikus retold what Winston had told her about the origin of the Underland and Luxa gave her a vague rendition of her and Gregor's adventures. They seemed kind of alike. They all started with a prophecy, then something wrong with the council, then an adventure, and usually a death or betrayal.

During the last one, where Gregor was fighting the Bane to kill him once and for all, Meg thought she would cry when Gregor's bond, Ares, was killed by the white rat. When she heard how Gregor kept hold of his claw for such a long time, she had to war with her tears to block them from bursting.

"So Luxa, after Gregor went home how did he get back?" Meg asked.

"His family was moving away from the entrances to the Underland, so his mother allowed him one more trip, to say goodbye, but as he came through, an unnatural earthquake closed off the entrance." Luxa took a breath. "Thankfully Aurora was there with Maia, Echo, Thalia, Hermes, and Calypso and carried Gregor to safety." She looked lovingly at her golden bond.

"Aurora is Maia and Echo's mom, right?" Meg asked.

Luxa's face fell at the mention of the bat's heritage. "Yes, she is."

"Then who's their dad?" Meg put the question innocently, but she knew there was something Luxa was hiding.

"Ares. Bat pregnancies last over a year, so a little between Ares' death and Gregor's return were the bats born. They were twins, which is extremely rare among bats, and many treat them disrespectfully," Luxa replied. Every time Gregor's bat was mentioned everyone seemed to stiffen, like they weren't sure how to react. Meg wondered what the deceased flier's past could be.

Later, as she was talking with Howard, she asked about his appearance. "So are you a Halflander, or a unique Regalian?" She knew it was probably rude, but Meg was curious, and when she was curious, almost nothing stopped her.

Hazard laughed good-naturedly. "I was wondering when you would ask that." His face light up in a smile.

"My mother was an Overlander, and my father, Hamnet, was Luxa's mother's brother. So, sure. You could call me a Halflander."

"Does that mean you used to live in Conejia?"

Hazard frowned, and meg realized that she had never told anyone about the city of the weepers, assuming they already knew. "I know of no Conejia. I lived in the jungle while I was young. What is this conejia? Where is it?"

Meg noticed that Hazard used casual, Overland speech when he was happy, but became formal again when conversation was uncertain.

"It's where I came when I fell down." Once it left her mouth Meg noticed how weird that sounded. "The prince and princesses of the city rescued me and helped me, too. There was a battle, though, and Ripred found me."

"I wonder…" Hazard's voice trailed off.

"What?" Meg asked, excited about this mysterious new question.

"Nothing, probably," hazard said, before walking down the Regalian hallway. Meg scowled. What was with these people? Keeping her in the dark about everything. First the  
Conejians, now the Regalians. When was she going to learn something good?

She wandered into Gregor and Luxa's apartment/suite. Meg had recently learned that she had arrived in Regalia two weeks after their wedding. In a few days, the council would crown Gregor king.

The door was open, so Meg walked in. "Gregor?" She called. "Luxa?"

"Just a minute!" A man's voice shouted from a room near the back. Meg walked towards where the voice came from, but found herself in a small office-space. The desk was clear except for an old paper on the desk. As she inspected it, Meg found that it was music.

She had taken piano since she was six, and was proficient at the guitar, but this was written for saxophone, the instrument her dad played. It was in G minor and the words were written above the notes.

 _Slipping Away by Gregor the Overlander_

 _Verse one. For Boots:_

 _Time is running out and it's too late_

 _It just keeps slipping, slipping away._

 _Pre-chorus:_

 _I don't know what's happening_

 _right now,_

 _But if this is goodbye could I say a couple_

 _words now?_

 _Chorus:_

 _I love you more than anything,_

 _Because are so precious and_

 _special to me_

 _I don't know what has just come_

 _over me,_

 _But you're somehow slipping away,_

 _away_

 _Verse two. For Luxa:_

 _Now you are leaving me here in the dark_

 _No place to turn, run, or hide_

 _But then I see a spark and it reminds me of you,_

 _Of how you are brave and do the things_

 _you gotta do_

 _Chorus_

 _Wordless bridge_

 _Chorus_

 **I hope I get at least five reviews for this chapter. I know its short, but it was hard to write. Lyrics are my own, by the way, so no copyright problems. See you guys soon, and please. At least five reviews. The reviews are what keep this story alive!**


	11. Ripred and Silksharp

Ripred almost felt bad about leaving the human in Regalia with no goodbye or information, but that wasn't his priority at the moment, so he pushed it to the back of his mind. He had a quest. Not the prophecy kind where the ruler has to approve and there's a plan or destination, but a life-changing search.

He had been _so_ close when he found the girl. The only reason he went out of his way to return her was because Ripred felt he owed it to the boy.

He loped along the open meadow. Glancing at the cows in the grass, he guessed that he'd make it there by sundown. The scenery changed as the day went on, giving way to rocky landscape, dotted with sparse shrubbery.

After hours of straight running, he had become accustomed to the sounds of the land around him, but now the soft thuds of muffled footsteps joined his ears. Fluidly, in a finely practiced motion, he wheeled around and prepared for a fight, but the figure standing behind him was human.

"Whoa!" the young man cried. "Sorry, uh… I didn't- I wasn't sure-"

His fumblings amused Ripred, but he had a job to do. He turned and was about to begin running again when a hand touched his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," a girl's voice said, "But I need you to come with me." Ripred spun to see two girls had joined the young man and were both wielding weapons. "I'm Ainslyn, Princess of Conejia, the City of Weepers, and you're trespassing."

"Pleased to meet you, your Highness," Ripred said, leaning forward as if to bow, but instead, at the last moment, he touched his front paw to the ground and swung his legs around, bringing his heavy body to the three humans' legs, knocking them to the ground. Ripred quickly resumed his journey, and soon forgot about the three royals.

With his eyes on the horizon and his body pacing to his length and speed, Ripred channeled Rager energy into his task. He had to make it, he had to find the city. The gates approached him as he neared, and he saw soldiers mounted on Weepers lining up to guard the gates. A fairly large tree stood nearby, and Ripred climbed up its trunk and onto its sturdy branches. It was a move few warriors would have attempted, but Ripred didn't shy from a challenge. The guards circled the tree, but Ripred was too far ahead. He leaped from the tree to the wall, and landed in a forwards roll, but instead neatly transferring his momentum into a somersault, he fell and hit the stone heavily. He looked around and saw he was in a pit built in the wall.

He had fallen for a trap! The young princess, Ainslyn, entered through a door in the wall of the pit in the wall. She smirked at him. "Thought you could escape, didn't you?" The door opened again and the other two came in, locking the door behind them.

"I'm Winston and this is my sister, Karyssa," the boy said. "Someone has been asking to see you, and this was the only way we figured we could get ahold of the infamous Peacemaker."

Once again, the door opened, and a gnawer entered. She had tan fur, that shimmered silver in the light. Her eyes were hazel and she moved gracefully. Ripred's small heart stuttered.

The gnawer tilted her head slightly to the side. "Hello daddy. Long time no see."


	12. The Song Continued

There was a piano in the room. It was a very old mini-grand, but that didn't slow Meg. She took the paper and set it on the stand, then sat on the cushioned bench.

The chords were very simple, so she worked out an interesting pattern to break them into. The sound was immediately sorrowful, full of past adventures and tragedies. Once she had the hang of it, she added melody with her voice, and the tune became even more beautiful. She played it twice through, improvising the wordless bridge with the written chords and getting entirely lost in the meaning of the song.

"What are you doing?"

Meg jumped, and her fingers fell away from the keys. "Oh, sorry. I just saw the song and was curious." She blushed with embarrassment. What had led her to go through his papers and play on his instrument?

Gregor's expression was something Meg had never seen before, equal parts annoyance, curiosity, and uncertainty.

"Did you write it?" Meg asked. "It's very beautiful! Half of it's written for Queen Luxa, right? And the other half for someone named Boots. Who is Boots? Was that her real name?" When Meg saw Gregor's face she realized that she had pushed it a little too far. No longer the odd combination, his expression was of rage and grief.

"None of that is of your concern, it doesn't pertain to you! Do you understand?" Gregor yelled. Meg nodded her head softly and hid her face as a sudden tear rolled down her cheek.

She walked to the edge of the door, turned to face Gregor, and politely said, "I am sorry for going through your things." And as an after-though, "Though you should get it published. It's a really pretty song." As Meg walked into the hall and into her room, Gregor's expression changed once again, this time to shock and confusion. Luxa walked in and sat by Gregor.

"You figured it out, didn't you?" she asked somberly. Nodding her head to the doorway where Meg disappeared through.

"You knew?" Gregor was hurt, but it faded as soon as he saw his beautiful wife's compassionate face. "What would I do without you?"

* * *

Meg had now been in Regalia for almost a month. She knew everyone in charge and all of Gregor's friends. She had also taken battle training with Hazard, Gregor, and Luxa, and though she lacked talent, she could defend herself if the need arose. In her spare time she explored the castle, wandering the hallways and discovering new rooms. Twice, she had stumbled into the nursery, where Dulcet oversaw the children of the castle. Meg liked Dulcet, and spent a lot of time with her.

If she wasn't roaming the halls, Meg was assisting Howard in the hospital. Dulcet's husband was very kind and talkative, even while he was working, so Meg helped him wash rags and disinfect tools.

At night, Meg fell asleep immediately. Partially from exhaustion, but mostly because she didn't want her mind to outrun her body. Whenever it did, she'd get a lingering sense of deja-vu. And Meg didn't know what it was about. It was like trying to bite her own teeth. **(Haha! I can see you trying it.)** Impossible unless she pulled them out, and she guessed that if she did learn what all her odd sensations were about, it would hurt. A lot.

* * *

"Quicksilver," Ripred murmured. The figures around him blurred out of view, leaving only the silvery-tan gnawer in front of him. Even to humans she would be called pretty, and to gnawers, she was the image of beauty, not that most rats cared.

But Ripred saw only her wide, hazel eyes and the emotions they held. It had been so long since he saw her last. She was only a pup then, but still as lovely as she was now.

His daughter.


	13. Lizzie

**Hey, everyone! It's been a while since my last update so I thought I'd go ahead and write one, but it took FOREVER for me to write this. It switched alot between POVs and was slightly confusing. A heads-up for anyone who has not read the first few chapters in the last month: The burger king chapter was extended. You could go ahead and read this chapter without rereading burger king, but it would be better to go back anyway.**

Lizzie

Lizzie looked around the cavern she had fallen into. The currents had kept her from hitting the earth too hard, so her ankles were barely bruised from the landing.

This was not a part of the Underland she had been in before, but that made sense, considering she had come from Virginia, and not New York. And it was rock. All rock, with a stream trickling along the wall, sneaking around the corner into the dark. The dark. The mysterious dark. The dark that Lizzie would have to head into.

There was light, but no particular source was visible. With nowhere else to go, Lizzie followed the thin stream around the corner. The light continued, hovering so near darkness, she was sure it would go out at any minute, but instead it continued, dangerously wavering.

As Lizzie walked, the stream widened from three inches to a foot, and then a diluted roar reached her ears. The stream connected with a small river, and flowed as far as Lizzie could see.

Was this where Meg had landed? Had she followed this river to Regalia? Had she found Luxa and Hazard and… and…. Lizzie stopped herself and looked around.

Positive she hadn't traveled as far as she had seen the river reach, she squinting in the dim light to see if it had turned. But from what she could make out, it had disappeared entirely. The sound remained, louder than ever, but the water had vanished.

Puzzled, she jogged a few steps forward to further her view, and suddenly, the ground ceased to exist, and Lizzie was falling again.

This time, however she landed not softly on hard ground, but with a _splash!_ in churning, foamy water. Never having taken lessons, Lizzie's swimming consisted of a desperate doggie-paddle, wildly groping for land. She blindly flailed out with one arm, then the other, and then… _thwack!_ Her slender fingers grasped rock. The other hand hit the ground as well, and she hauled her upper body out of the water, letting her legs dangle.

After resting for several minutes, she crawled the remainder of the way onto the hard rock, rolled over, and stared at the foggy expanse that was the Underland's sky.

* * *

Winston stood at the top of the waterfall, gazing at the misty spray that emanated from the wider, gentler river below. Where he stood, the water was dangerous and rocky, but after the falls it was quiet and placid, having used all its energy on the rapids above. He prepared himself. He knew he had to jump down, but every time he hesitated.

It was two years ago he'd received the prophecy, and he couldn't remember the exact words of it, but unlike most prophecies, the meaning was clear. The words didn't rhyme, and they didn't have the riddling tone of real prophecies, but he had no doubt they were true.

It was given to him by a frail, delusional, half-drowned Gnawer, but her words had struck Winston deep. 'You will find your love by the waterfall, and if she appears and you aren't there, she will die.'

It had seemed rather odd at the time, but ever since, Winston had jumped from the cliff of the fall into the water below. He did it less because he wanted to meet the girl, than he did it so the girl would be spared from death.

When he and Ainslyn had found Meg by the river, he had wondered if it might be her, but they were very far apart in age, and then she disappeared during the pricker battle.

He had felt an odd connection to Meg, and up until she left he'd been convinced that she was the one, but when she vanished, he had put the thought out of his mind. Now, she was either captured, lost, or, mostly likely, dead. Her weeper, Nitzae, had been misplaced as well, and it had caused Karyssa great turmoil to have her weeper's sister perish.

All these thoughts ran through Winston's head as he bent his knees and shifted his weight.

Then he jumped.

The air. The wind.

Then the splash. The cold water.

He spluttered as the rapids shoved him to the surface, and let the strong current tug him back and forth. Once he was past the suction of the waterfall, he began swimming strongly towards the bank.

As was his routine, Winston hauled himself out of the water and onto the chilly rock, breathing heavily. He rolled onto his back and stared into space, letting his hair drip onto the stone below. Same as always, he drew up his knees and pulled himself up on his elbows, allowing his wet clothes to drain further.

Then he stood slowly and was about to make the short journey back to Conejia when he saw her.

* * *

As Silksharp looked into her father's black eyes, she felt all the loneliness and sorrow she had hidden over the years come welling back up inside her.

When she and her mother had first arrived in Conejia, they were sick from a cold-water disease and terrible grief. Her mother, Redsong, had been delusional and emaciated. As a pup, Silksharp herself had been fairly healthy, but the Conejians had still brought her to their hospital with her mother.

The people in Conejia didn't harbor any love for Gnawers, so they had expelled Redsong from the hospital before she was entirely healed, and she died not too long after.

Young and alone except for her brother, Silverscratch, Silksharp had lived just outside the city, hunting what she could and living only to survive. Her heart was broken from the death of her sister and mother, and the loss of her father, but she had other things to deal with.

Silverscratch had inherited their father's rager abilities, so he was constantly struggling with his wild talent. Silksharp was relieved that rager skills had never surfaced in her years, for every day she watched her brother wrestle with his uncontrollable killing instincts. Once, when Silksharp had dropped a fruit on his tail, he automatically lashed out and drew blood in a scratch along the bottom of her jaw. She had stood there, stunned, while he turned and ran away in shame.

After that, they lived in separate areas, only seeing each other at the riverbank. Even then, they hardly looked at each other, wallowing in the shame they held after the accident. Eventually, the royal family had taken Silksharp into their castle, and they hadn't seen each other since.

Then Winston had arrived with the girl. She had tan skin, curly dirty-blonde hair and hazel eyes. Her name was Lizzie, and Silksharp spent almost all her time with the girl, talking math and logic. Lizzie had come looking for her sister, Meg, who had washed up in the river and stayed for a few days before disappearing during a battle. Lizzie was discouraged by this, but still wanted to leave to search for her after she had regained strength.

Now Silksharp stood in front of her father, staring into his deep black eyes, wondering how they were to continue, when Winston cleared his throat.

"Ahem?" All eyes focused on him. "Uh… so. Not to interrupt your lovely reunion, but someone else would like to meet with you, Ripred." Winston turned to open the stone door one last time, and Lizzie stepped in.

* * *

Lizzie locked her gaze on the ragged gnawer in front of her and felt her eyes well up with tears.

"I found her, Ripred. She's here," she sniffled. Then she looked at the beautifully colored gnawer to her left. Then, unable to contain herself any longer, she burst from her shell and embraced Ripred, sobbing into his fur. He patted her back awkwardly, but lovingly.

"I know, Lizzie. I know."

This time it was Silksharp who cleared her throat. "Um… dad? Lizzie's here because she's looking for her sister, Meg, and you're the only one around who really knows her, apparently."

Lizzie stepped away from Ripred and looked again at the other rat, noticing not for the first time, how despite their species difference, they had similar appearances. They were both very slight and elegant in features, and their eyes were almost the exact same shade of hazel. The tan in her fur was so alike that in Lizzie's hair it was bewildering.

Their personalities were strikingly different, but they both had a tender heart and were wired for flight rather than fight. They both had rager brothers, sisters who were lost, mothers who were gone, and pasts that were beyond normal.

 **Sorry for the abrupt ending. Next chapter should be up in the next week. Remember to hit the review button on your way out!**

 **God bless!**


	14. Conejians!

**I am SOOOO sorry about how long it took me to come up with this, and apologize that it's not that good, but I write it in half an hour.**

Meg had no idea what had come over her.

It was midnight, and she was walking down the hall to the hospital.

She had spent many hours helping Howard in the hospital, but why she had the sudden urge to go there in the middle of the night was far beyond what her mind could comprehend. It was crazy, she knew, but something was tickling her conscience, hissing to her about the hospital, and, as impulsive as she was, Meg obeyed.

The hallway was filled by a thick darkness. Thankfully, Meg had memorized the path to the hospital, so she wasn't bumping into too many walls.

Suddenly, a large black shape skidded out from behind the corner. It was even darker than the shadows around it and was far too fast to be a human. It rammed into her and sent her reeling backwards.

Meg wasn't sure if she expected the creature to continue barreling down the hall or stop and attack her. It did neither.

Instead, it turned into a big black lab mix and began giving her a ferocious bath with his wide, flat pink tongue.

"Ares!" Indeed. The ever-shedding short black fur and sizable half-perked ears, as well as the considerable, always-wagging tail entirely gave away the identity of Meg's sorely missed pet.

Abruptly, Meg realized that she had been very loud, and self-consciously led her long-lost labrador back to her room. The rest of the night she spent grooming gunk and dirt out of his coat, crooning over him, and scolding him for being missing for so long.

It wasn't until morning that she stopped to wonder how he'd gotten there.

* * *

"Meg!" A blur of Conejian princess nearly knocked her over in a hug so tight, when it was done, left her gasping and wheezing. "Oh, sorry," Karyssa said.

"You're... _gasp-_ stronger... _gasp-_ than you look."

"Woof!" Ares agreed.

"How-how did you get here?" Meg asked, having regained her composure.

"A Gnawer," Karyssa said. "His name is Ripred, I believe. Another Overlander came and helped reunite him with his daughter or something like that. Anyway, he knew you were here and we decided it was probably time we visited the mystical Regalia. He led us here."

Winston had walked up behind Karyssa while she spoke. Silently he signaled to Meg to be quiet. For a split second Meg's mind was focused on too serious matters to understand. Who was this other Overlander? Then she realized he was pranking his sister.

"Oh, yeah. Ripred brought me here for some reason after the pricker attack…."

Winston snatched the opportunity, using his hands to poke her in the sides.

"EEK!" she yelped, jumping as high as Ares bounced when Meg picked up a ball.

"Haha," Winston said. "Got you again, little sis." His eyes, now changed a stormy, witty grey, twinkled. "Anyway. Yeah, we need to get you to Queen Luxa. Poor girl should probably know the whole story."

The "poor girl" did indeed wish to know the whole story, but with a barking dog, grouchy gnawer, and Meg and Karyssa talking and bunny-trailing and such, she decided that maybe some organization should come first.

"QUIET!"

Everyone stopped at once.

"Thank you, Winston," the queen said, nodding in his direction. "Now. One at a time, explain what happened. Meg, you begin."

So she told her what had happened from the moment she fell into Conejia to when she'd met Luxa and Gregor. Then Winston proceeded to tell about what had happened after Meg had left.

"Wait!" Meg shouted all of a sudden. "What is this Overlander's name?"

"Lizzie," Karyssa told her. "Why?"

"I-she… well. Lizzie's my sister," Meg stammered.

Gregor's face was a mask of calm. "What are you all suggesting we do now? You seem to be here for a reason."

Winston and Karyssa shared a look.

"Well, we-"

"I mean-"

"Of course-"

"You should both start a few more sentences," Ripred finally said. "They're here to ask for your assistance in defeating the armies that plague their city."

"Exactly," the siblings agreed.

Gregor and Luxa looked at each other and seemed to have a whole conversation that Meg thought went something like:

Gregor: _They seem like nice enough people._

Luxa: _I agree, but Regalia…._

Gregor: _I understand, but what they said…_

Luxa: _You know what? Fine!_

Gregor: _Whoa! I didn't mean to make you angry!_

Luxa: _Don't worry about it. I'll put my kingdom in jeopardy to help them._

Gregor: _Uh, okay…_

"We agree. We'll send warriors out for three days. In that time, we'll do what we can, if not…."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" Karyssa said, spinning in a circle.


	15. Gregor and Lizzie

**Sorry, this chapter's a little short but I'm overloaded with schoolwork (I skipped a grade last year, so I'm kinda leaping in)... I promise the next one will be at least a thousand words... hopefully more.**

Well, it seemed like things were going well to Meg. The Conejians would have their problem solved, Ripred had found his daughter, and the Regalians would have new friends. The only thing left was for her to find Betsie-or Lizzie, as she was called here-slap her for never saying she'd been to the Underland before, then take Ares and go home.

But to Gregor, things were seen differently.

Both his sisters, back in the Underland again. Seeing Boots-Meg-again, that was hard enough, but now Lizzie, too. She'd be how old now? Seventeen? Nine years since he'd last seen her, but he had thought about his siblings every day. Now, watching Meg there in the Underland, so mature, so much older, and yet still his little Boots.

When he first returned to the Underland, he'd been too delighted to think much about how he might never get home, but after a while… well, the day Meg showed up, he would've given just about anything to hear her call him "Ge-go" again.

After the meeting, Winston had brought him to the courtyard and explained things in more detail. About how Lizzie got back, how she'd found Silksharp and brought her to Ripred, reuniting the family, and how he hoped to rid Conejia of their plague. Gregor was surprised to hear of the prophecy Winston had experienced. It sounded a bit farfetched, but he was glad of it. Winston had saved his sister.

"We'd always known that the prickers retreated in the same direction every day," Winston said, "but it wasn't until the day Meg went missing we decided to follow them. Ainslyn, Karyssa, and I went on foot."

"Is that dangerous?" Gregor asked.

"Not that much," he explained. "Prickers are only truly dangerous when they outnumber you. Their only weapons are the spines all over their body. They can't really shoot them effectively, and it's awkward for them to fight, since they basically have to throw themselves on you. Really, the only reason we've had such trouble is because we're a small city-only about twenty-five hundred citizens, and only six hundred warriors-and they number in the thousands. We assume someone's leading them, too, since they haven't shown much intelligence of their own, but we can't know who."

"But you guys followed them?"

"Yeah," Winston continued. "But we only went so far. They traveled for half a day, in areas we know, then they went through a hole, just wide enough for them and any hostages they caught to fit through, and disappeared. We didn't go farther because we were sure we'd be caught."

"It sounds like the Overland's ants," Gregor speculated. "Leave their burrow, collect food-or prisoners, and then go back to their burrow."

Winston nodded, and Gregor could see that his eyes, which had started the conversation as a violet-blue, were back to a sea green. "Similar. If we're sticking with the ant metaphor, the easiest way to defeat them is just to kill the queen."

"Back to the prickers themselves," Gregor said. "You think if we double our numbers we can beat them? Or at least keep them pretty occupied for a long time?"

"Probably. We average about a two hour battle on a daily basis, but doubling our number? Probably five or six hours. Especially if you have your people on those fliers, since the prickers have never battled airborne attackers as far as I know."

"Good. We should be able to get some men there next month," Gregor said. "Now, you say an Overlander named Lizzie has arrived in Conejia?"

"Yes," Winston said. "Why? Do you know her and Meg from your time in the Overland?"

Gregor smiled sadly. "Winston, can you keep a secret?"

* * *

Back in Conejia, Lizzie was thinking about Winston. He had offered to bring her along to Regalia, and she had been so close to saying yes… but….

She couldn't.

She'd missed her brother so much. Every waking hour of every day, even some not-waking hours, she was haunted by his ghost. She would remember how he looked mad whenever he was deep in thought. And how he would speak of the Underland when they were in New York, as if he were just visiting their apartment, and his real home was back there, back with Ares and Howard and Luxa.

She laughed bitterly.

His home was in the Underland. It always would be.

And that meant she wasn't part of his home, because she belonged in the Overland, with their mother.

But now…

Now she was confused. She was seventeen, very slim and light for her age, but she'd be starting college next year. One more year before she'd be out of the house.

And Winston, too. He was something else, just one more thing that attached her to that place.

And what about Meg? She was down here, too, probably with Gregor. If she learned he was her brother, chances were that she'd stay in the Underland as well.

 _Two family members and a love_ , Lizzie thought. _I'm kidding myself, thinking I could go back._

Secretly, quietly, she let go of any visions of college, and any possibilities of becoming a math professor. Instead, she filled her dreams with ideas of giant creatures, and pale, dark-haired boys with color-changing irises.


	16. Pricker Attack

**I know, I know. I'm a horrible person.**

 **It's been like months since I updated, and this one's pretty short. Well, I'll try for a longer chapter next time.**

 **Thank you** ** _SOOOOO_** **much to all who reviewed during my absence! I love you all!**

Meg was happy.

Sure, she missed Lizzie and her parents, but she'd never had a super-close relationship with them.

Right now, she had her best friend Ares, a bat, a giant guinea pig, a problem, a way to fix it, and all the freedom of the Underland.

And she was sure that she'd see her family again, anyway. Luxa had told her that there would be Fliers prepared to bring her home at any minute.

She was secure. (Not necessarily safe, but secure.)

She was loved. (Ares, Nitzae, Echo; even Luxa had begun to treat her as a little sister.)

She was content.

Meg remembered a framed saying her parents had in their living room. It was white with blue cursive print and words that said: " _home is where_ love _resides,_ memories _are created,_ friends _always belong, and_ laughter _never ends._ "

That certainly described how she felt about Regalia. Her farm in Virginia, however…

What was holding her there?

Not her parents, not her animals, certainly not her schoolwork. Betsie? Maybe. Maybe it was just that she felt she _should_ belong there. That's where she grew up, after all. But she sensed it was more.

Ares, ever the skeptic of serious thinking, leaped up on her lap to disrupt her thoughts. Or at least, he tried to. He was by no means a small dog, so while he was attempting to plant his bottom on Meg's lap, his front legs slid forward off the chair and onto the floor, ending up with only his back legs still up, his tail and hindquarters high in the air. Meg, who'd been leaning backward in her seat up until this point, was now easily able to shove the remainder of the dog back down.

"Good dog," she told him, as if he had removed himself himself. He grinned his doggy grin and let his tongue roll out forward between his two largest bottom teeth.

Then, his half-perked, floppy ears twitched and stood up as straight as they could, searching for a sound. Ares shut his mouth, and his pink tongue disappeared as he smelled for the unseen threat.

A knock sounded on the door or Meg's room three times. Ares went into a fit of spinning, whining, and barking.

"Crazy puppy," Meg muttered as she stood to open the door. Hazard stood there, no armor this time. She hadn't seen him in a while, but he had been the first friend she made in Regalia.

"Come in," she said.

Her room was small, but Meg pulled out the chair next to the little desk for Hazard and she sat on the deep bed. Ares tried to join her, but like has been previously said, he was no small dog, and he took up most of the room. Meg shoved him back off.

"Haven't seen you much recently," she told Hazard, using her foot to block Ares from returning to the bed.

"Yeah, sorry," he said. "With all the drama about Conejia I've been pretty occupied. And you've been, like, everywhere."

Meg smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. Gregor and Luxa seem to think I'm required for everything."

Hazard shuffled in his seat, then began to say, "I was th-" when Karyssa burst, panting and gasping like a beached fish, through the door.

"Meg! Hazard, great. We need you- _gasp_ -at the arena- _gasp_ -fast- _gasp_!"

Meg leaped up, snatched the sheathed dagger Luxa had given her from her desk, and raced out the door with Ares and Hazard hot on her heels as she followed Karyssa through the winding hallways and courtyards.

The arena was, in short, absolute mayhem. The giant hedgehogs were everywhere, like the whole moss floor had grown spikes. Regalian warriors fought from above on their bonds, but no amount of hacking with a sword could defeat the prickers from above. "Their weakness is their bellies," Meg mumbled. "Their back is their armor, you can't fight through it."

"Well we can't get to their bellies right now," Hazard said, mounting Thalia and drawing his own sword.

"No, wait!" Meg called after him, too late. "You know what? Nevermind. Echo!"

The small bat whipped onto the scene, and Meg swung onto her back as quickly as possible. "Let's go," she said. "We've got to get the Regalians to retreat to the walls. We can't defeat them from above, and we can't attack from below. So we'll have to settle for the sides."

Echo responded with a squeak and carried Meg over the battle, calling out in her flier language while Meg shouted her own warnings. A few soldiers glanced skeptically at her and made feeble movements towards the edges of the arena, but most ignored her entirely, slashing and stabbing at the sea of tan spines.

"This isn't working," Meg told Echo over the noise. "We'll have to try something different."

"Like what?" Hazard asked, pulling up alongside her. "I hope you have a plan."

"I'm working on it," Meg said back. "This is only my second battle, you know. Unless you count that time when-"

"Focus, Overlander," Echo warned.

"Right, sorry. Hazard, what do you think the prickers are here for?"

"Food? Winston and Karyssa? I don't know much about them."

"No," Meg said, mostly to herself. "No, they don't need food, and they're not smart enough to know Winston and Karyssa are important. Which means that they aren't in control. Someone is controlling them."

"So?"

"So we need to find whoever's controlling them."

Hazard nodded. "Well how do we do that?"

Meg slammed the heel of her hand into her forehead a few times. "Ugh. I. Don't. Know. I don't know if they have a leader, or if they're following orders from something back near Conejia."

"Let's hope they have a leader," Hazard said, and the two flew back to the tunnels, away from the battle.


End file.
